


Inventive

by pickledragon



Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Backstory, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Feels, Gen, Light Angst, One Shot, headcanons abound, i take canon and twist of it what i will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23191825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickledragon/pseuds/pickledragon
Summary: Aaron hadn't meant to fall into his line of work. But sometimes, push came to shove, and no matter how many hours you worked, you came home with empty pockets to a dark apartment.The only way out was through.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Inventive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [werealldreaming](https://archiveofourown.org/users/werealldreaming/gifts).



> for the lovely folks in the not afraid to fall discord, who encourage my nonsense

Aaron hadn't meant to fall into his line of work. But sometimes, push came to shove, and no matter how many hours you worked, you came home with empty pockets to a dark apartment.

The only way out was through.

The fifth time that year the apartment threatened to kick him out for falling behind on rent, Aaron had had the crazy idea. He already worked enough hours with sparks, slept and dreamed and breathed hydraulics. He'd even won the science fair back in high school with his prototypes for improved gliders.

Jeff's words to him before they fought that last big fight echoed through his head. 'Make something of yourself, don't waste your life.'

How hard could it be?

Aaron spent his remaining salary on parts, and burned the midnight oil for a week assembling the suit. The next time Miles came over (Jeff and Rio's usual sitter had fallen through, and Aaron was reluctantly called), he had Miles name as many cool-sounding things as he can before he picked his alias.

The Prowler first made his rounds as a small-time thief, leaving calling cards everywhere he goes. He was fast, efficient, and his tech, though hackneyed, was some of the slickest in the business, Aaron observed proudly.

New York City being New York City, it was only a week more before he got his first offer to work in a crew.

It was a juggling act, but the most satisfying one that Aaron had ever been a part of: some engineering grunt work by day, working as a mercenary by night. 

He could choose his hours, choose his pay, choose his clients. It was more freedom than Aaron had ever expected in any future. He could keep the lights on now, even move into a better apartment. He had more time to be involved in Miles' life, now that he wasn't working several jobs 12 hours a day.

Jeff was suspicious, but he couldn't prove a thing. They were cordial, which was the best Aaron could hope for.

But nothing can last forever. Least of all something as tenuous as balance.

Last job, he'd said to himself, walking away from that burning building with sacks of microchips slung over his shoulder. Last time, and after this one ended, he'd go back to working the other jobs, the ones that took up most of his life with no end or good pay in sight.

When Fisk's call for hands got sent out, with suspiciously high pay rates, Aaron should have seen it for what it was. He probably did, and was just in denial. 

It'd been three months since his last job, and Aaron couldn't deny it: he missed the rush, the feeling of doing something important, even if it wasn't for the right people. 

He guessed that's what Jeff felt like every day.

He'd sworn he'd stop: Miles needed a better role model than one who moonlighted as a mercenary to keep the lights on. But Fisk's offer was tempting, and the thought of one last job, one that went better than the last one, was what sealed the deal.

When he figured out the actual reason that Fisk needed them, odder than the usual clientele of mercenaries-for-hire in New York City, it was too late to back out, and Aaron wasn't quite sure he would if he had the chance. 

After all, the only way out was through.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! find me at learningthomas.tumblr.com


End file.
